Thinking . . . Planning . . . Doing !

Trouble brings Opportunity.

  Opportunity means Challenge. 

    Challenge calls for Thinking. 

      Consider your Choices.

        Size up your Situation.

       Pray for Wisdom.

    Thank God for His blessings.

  S M I L E ! 

Do it       : )  

by Elaine Hardt ©2020

Oh, Say Can You BE ?

BE thankful for your abilities —

appreciate what you’ve got ! 

      Thankful for opportunities; 

aware of what yesterday brought.

BE thankful you can learn —

from problems you daily face.

      Put those aggravations

away in their place !

BE thankful for God’s presence —

He is always near

      Remember Scripture promises:

Trust, then do not fear. 

BE thankful for God’s promise —

for all who believe,

      anyone who prays to Him

eternal life in Heaven does receive.

BE thankful to be reminded —

blessings, when you pray,

      come to others when you care

to mention them each day.

BE happy, smart, useful, kind —

use that amazing brain you got.

       You don’t know how many more days —

  just a few or maybe a lot !  

by Elaine Hardt ©2020

My Birthday Greeting to God

DEAR GOD,  I want to thank You that I was born to my mama.  I didn’t know anything at the time, except that I had been disturbed.  I didn’t know Your whole world was waiting for me.

It’s been little by little for me to see and experience and find out about this town where mama and daddy had been living for more than 20 years before they married.  They told me a little about You for my curiosity. 

Now, I want to thank You for letting me live on Your earth for this long.  There has been a lot for me to learn, and even before I appreciated You being our Creator, You have been taking care of me.

I found out that some things I did were not good for me, not nice to do to my siblings. You are the most patient One I have ever heard about.  Later, I found out that I should apologize to You, so I did.  And, how nice that You forgive me for being careless, clumsy, and crabby.  

Soon I heard others talk about You, and I read about You in the Bible.  Jesus coming to our little Earth from Heaven was wonderful.  I would have cried to see Him die, but I would have been jumping up and down to see Him get out of the grave and then go up in the sky to Heaven again.  Every day I read in the Bible some of what He said and what He did. 

You are completely amazing, totally magnificent, greatly to be admired and respected and obeyed.  Wow!  You created all those stars and everything;  You are powerful. 

I see everyday that I should talk to You, own up to my misbehavior and get back on friendly terms with You.  I heard that when I asked You would show me what to do and say, so I would be able to be good.  

Some old people died when I was growing up, and it didn’t make any sense to me, except that they got too old and that was the end of them here.  Later I realized how sad people got when other people died.  I heard that even young people died when their bodies got too sick or too hurt. 

When older people told me about where You live and how You invited people to come there when they die I thought that was the best news ever!  I talked to You then and told You I wanted to be with You forever and ever.  

Little did I know that I would live for this long and have these many days for thinking and learning and doing stuff.  I still love You and admire You!  I still want to come to live with You forever and ever.  I still say I am sorry when I think or do or say something that is not nice. 

It’s been a terrible thing to hear about people who are very, very bad, choosing to do the opposite of helpful and kind ways.  It is shocking to realize that they defy You and hate You.  They will one day stand before Your Throne and get punishment.  When I heard names of some of them I prayed they would change, but they did not choose to listen to You. 

In closing, I wanted to tell You that I am relieved that when I talk to You it is not interrupting something important that You are doing.  It is awesome that You care about every person in the world, and I am amazed that You can hear everyone praying at once.  I am so glad I don’t have to worry about dying because You will take care of me now and then and forever.  I love You, God, and I am so happy to call you my Heavenly Father.   

 Signed  _____________________

National Armed Forces Day, May 16, 2020

It’s a special day on the calendar

to recognize men and women who serve.

They demonstrate their dedication

and they work with brains and nerve.

So, fly the flag of the USA,

speak up to the people you know.

We each can reach out to others,

patriotism and love we can show. 

The future holds much uncertainty,

we always need help from others;

This is a reminder to us here — 

pray every day for one another.

We appreciate our many blessings !

Life means making decisions each day.

Choose to open the Bible and read;

See what your Maker has to say.

Stand up for what’s good and true !

Tell what Armed Forces Day means to you.

by Elaine Hardt ©2020

Your Mother Might Tell You

Be thankful for your body
Be thankful for your brain
               and . . .
Exercise your body, exercise your brain !

Can you still yodel or sing ?
Were you ever musical on an instrumental thing ?

It’s fun to talk, fun to think !
Write stuff down with pencil or ink.

Growing older one day at a time
Give a try to write things in rhyme !

You are special, you are unique, too.
Be thankful today for what you can do !

by Elaine Hardt ©2020

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving Day

             ***Pray now for God's blessing. 

No accidents, no incidents,

no tickets, no troubles,

not even see an accident.

No big rainstorm,

no thunder and lightning, or hail,

no wind, no flooding on the roads.

No speeding,

no careless driving, you or anyone,

no drunks on streets or highways.

Good wisdom for everyone:

troopers, drivers, passengers,

truck drivers, motorcyclists.

No wrong way drivers,

No fussy passengers, young or old,

No unexpected delay going or coming home. 

May this important day be special:

a time to be thankful and verbal,

a time to appreciate each other. 
***Join all of us praying for a great day. 

                         + + + 

by Elaine Hardt © 2019

TODAY, May 19

Today is National Armed Forces Day, so our flag is flying out there;

We smile at these brave people, and every day we mention them in prayer.

       Ideas come to mind, so we don’t just recite some formal kind of word,

       and we’re thankful to know all of this the LORD has seen and has heard.

Our verbal and heart-felt communication is not just “let’s pretend.”

Hopefully, you too have found God's peace when your honest prayer you “send.” 

                                                      + + + 

by Elaine Hardt ©2018

My Prayer for Blessing

Heavenly Father,  You are mighty, holy, awesome,

   so I humbly come now to seek Your blessing,

      so I ask: show me, teach me, help me.  

You placed me here at this time

   so I could know how much I need You,

      so I could open my heart to receive Your love.

You have shown me my weakness and failures

   so I can own up to my need for Your grace,

      so I will honestly confess my sins.

You allowed me to experience conditions of life

   so I can recognize frustration, confusion, discouragement,

      so I can rebuke the enemy of my souls who tempts me.

You bring circumstances to teach me

  so I see I lack confidence, strength, determination,

      so I see I lack wisdom for what to say and what to do.

You have a plan and a purpose for me

   so I can survive the tough times ahead,

      so I can learn to trust and obey You.

You have a wonderful Forever for me in Heaven

   so I can be with Jesus my Savior,

      so I can thank You in person for salvation.  

Heavenly Father,  You are mighty, holy, awesome,

   so I gratefully now declare Your blessing upon me,
       thank You for Your wonderful love, forgiveness, and blessings. 

                                      AMEN.

by Elaine Hardt ©2018

Improving Today

Joyous Considerations, 

   thoughtful deliberations,

      prayerful conversations: 

         learning to trust God and obey.

Improving is not automatic for me,

   and truly I know I need more energy,

      and wisdom seems kinda hard, you see;

         that’s why I do pray every day.

And I’ll share these words with you,

   Open the Bible, take a careful view,

      What a relief to know that it’s true.

         So, I remind you to pray. 

Open your eyes to view the earth,

   You are a person of great worth,

      It’s time for your spiritual birth,

         Talk to your Maker today. 

by Elaine Hardt ©2017

Father's Day Blessing

                Men want recognition and respect. Here’s mine for you.

Being a good father was always a hard job.
And if you did all the things the Bible said you should do, it was even harder. God always asks us to do impossible things.
And for good reason; so we’ll find out what our human limitations are.
This is so that we will relinquish control over our lives to Him, and let Him be our Savior and Boss.
Being a man has lots of advantages, but even those advantages might slow us down from humbling ourselves to come to God.
Best deal is to take it like a man.
God wants to be that Perfect Father that you never had. He wants to take you to Heaven for Eternity.
What’s so hard about that?
Well, for one thing, there’s this humility stuff,
Then asking forgiveness and expressing love,
It’s not exactly every man’s vocabulary, but, it’s worth it.

Here’s to all the men who are fathers,
Do the right thing. You can trust God to give you the straight scoop.
I appreciate you and your many good qualities
so this is not like criticism,
just a reminder that Departure Day is coming for all of us, and there’s a choice to be made.
Already know Jesus? Good for you.

          HAPPY FATHER’S DAY and many more happy days, besides. 

by Elaine Hardt ©2000

There's a Miracle Coming for You !

You’re on the brink of a miracle today!

That’s why there’s circumstances you see now,

it’s a test of faith and obedience to God;

relax and pray, and the LORD will show you how.

Others are noticing some problems you have,

you can’t evade their concern about this stuff;

but God brings miracles when it’s His time,

trust Him in the good times, as well in the rough.

Find new assurance when you read His Word today,

Smile through your tears — or frustrations’ fearful blow.

Thank Him ahead of this new breakthrough coming;

He takes care of you and loves you more than you know!

by Elaine Hardt ©2017

Finding Things in My Head that I Want to Remember

Sometimes all sorts of things

go and hide out of my mind!

I frown a lot and complain

when I need that stuff to find. 

WHAT CAN  I DO ? ? ?

It's Almost Christmas 2016

We’re getting ready for our annual celebration;

we’re putting up our old, favorite decorations, too. 

And it’s fun to write, having anticipations 

to hear one of these days from you.

The stores are full of decorations for December,

Newspapers, magazines show lots of stuff on sale,

Social media is keeping very busy,

And there’s all those ads that come in the mail.  

The real meaning, the origin of Christmas,

Has been pushed way out of everyone’s view;

It’s not a popular thing to mention Jesus,

But I’m going to; and how about you?

The Jewish people had ancient Scriptures:

A miraculous birth predicted for years,

A Savior would come, a wondrous occasion,

A time for redemption, set free from all fears.  

We thank God for providing us salvation;

Grateful to have eternal expectation —

so, of course, we pray His blessings for you.

Join us in this wonderful celebration!

                          + + + 

by Elaine Hardt ©2016

OH! THE TRAFFIC ! ! !

’Tis the season to go shopping, and oh!  the traffic.

Here’s what we say, what we pray,

when we are backing out of the garage

on even a not-so-busy day.

“Dear LORD,

No accidents, no incidents,

no tickets, no troubles, 

not even see an accident. 

Get safely home again today.

Thank You, Father in Heaven!"  

by Elaine Hardt ©2016

Thanksgiving Day Was Yesterday . . .

Did you count your blessings?

Could you name at least a few?

Is this thankfulness a good idea?

Is this attitude important to you?

Yes, the world’s in quite a mess,

and we hear it all day in the news;

bad things are caused by bad people,

but at Judgment Day they lose.

Of course, you and I know what to do:

we pray about these situations;

we can’t individually solve them

or handle these complications.

But our Heavenly Father knows 

and He has a loving plan

to forgive those who confess their sins —

each youngster, each woman, each man.

Open your Bible, you know where it is?

Take time to read and review,

Start at John 3:16, that chapter;

be thankful for His love for YOU.  

by Elaine Hardt ©2016

What I Want To Tell You

It was nice — or helpful

It was requested — or unexpected

It was lengthy  — or short and to the point

I’m describing those words you said to me,  

— or  you wrote down and sent to me

Thanks for thinking of me.

By Elaine Hardt ©2016

Worry? Fuss? Neglect? What YOU Can Do

        Today some bad news comes on the TV news or on social media or some Internet news site? Or, in the neighborhood or downtown?

        Are you accepting complacency?  Choosing to overlook problems?  That aggravation or that problem could be the nudge for you to try a new approach.  Don’t let yourself be buried under a negative snow slide of massive calamity.  

        Maybe there’s no easy way out, no quick fix?  So, go sit in the rocking chair?  What is a considerate person supposed to do?  Quit caring about anybody else? 

        For the careful, concerned person there is something that’s not complicated, not confusing, not time-consuming that you can do.  You don’t need to neglect what YOU can do. Shed your anxiety and save lots of time by not worrying. 

        Right there and then . . . 

What? A One Minute Prayer . . . Again?

A silly bedtime rhyme came to mind yesterday, “Good night, sleep tight; don’t let the bedbugs bite!”    Along with that childhood prayer,  “Now I lay me down to sleep,” it was a ritual for us little kids.

Lately there’s been a TV commercial about getting a new mattress because an older one might be infected with bedbugs, so no doubt that brought the rhyme to mind yesterday.

And today the big thought of how adults treat prayer as repeating memorized words, reciting them quickly without pause or consideration:  what did I just say to God?  Does the old prayer still mean something?  Am I just being careless, thinking that I did what I was supposed to do?  Do those words make me a believer, a Christian, a good guy?

Memorized prayers recited at home or at church can become useless when our minds are not paying attention.  Why do the leaders say those holy words to quickly?

While we might not be able to bring this problem to the attention of someone in charge, at least we can remedy it at home.  Are you going to pray the “Lord’s Prayer”? Speak slowly, pause between phrases and think about what you’re saying to God.  You are talking to your Maker, and He is listening.  Of course, He sees your attitude.

Now, what is it that you want to say to God?  Here is the “Lord’s Prayer” from the words of the Bible in Matthew 6:9-13  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A9-13 

Here are eleven foreign language translations http://www.lords-prayer-words.com/lord_traditional_king_james.html  that also gives details of the phrases, the context, analysis line-by-line, and prayers for important occasions through the year.   

Ask yourself now, is it a “magic formula” ?  Does it keep us close to the LORD? Then take a few minutes to look up the two websites listed here.  

Afterwards ask yourself, what?  What do I want to tell my Creator?  Would this be a good time to confess my weakness, my shortcomings, my sins?  Would it be helpful to put into my own words something to express my faith, my admiration, my thankfulness?

So, is one minute enough today?

By Elaine Hardt ©2016